


Codename: Anima

by XyanyaVieme



Category: X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: F/F, F/M, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Multi, Original Character(s), Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:03:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27585830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XyanyaVieme/pseuds/XyanyaVieme
Summary: The origin story of Ryan Emery Gayle, teenager and mutant. How did he discover his powers and end up on Krakoa and where did he go from there?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

The day had started as most others in the small town of Glenolden did for Ryan Gayle. He went to school dreading the bullies that would make his life a living hell. He went to the few clubs after school that brought him some joy and happiness in his otherwise boring life. Then Ryan walked across town leaving his highschool and heading home. He would be happy when he graduated this year and was able to get as far away from this little town as he could. He was kinda thinking about heading to Florida but thought maybe someplace like California might be better considering they were more liberal out there and a lot more accepting and open-minded. 

As Ryan passed by the football field on South Avenue, he looked over and gave a sigh. The popular girls were out there practicing their cheerleading. He sighed softly wishing that he could be there among them, maybe not as one of the popular girls, but at least looking like them. Ryan shook his head and looked down at the pavement as he trudged alone towards home hands stuffed in his pockets. Before he got past the field, he took one last longing glance at the girls which was swiftly cut off by a black van passing on the street. If there had been any justice in the world he thought then he would have been born to be one of them. He didn’t even care if he was as fit and pretty as them, he just hated being the average non-descript guy. He hated everything about himself and how he wasn’t special in anything in the school except for being picked on. Ryan kept his head down as he made the rest of his way home so he wasn’t aware of the influx of black vans that he passed, all of which looked exactly the same. None of them had any markings to make them stand out; it was only the sheer number of them all parked facing the same way that would have made one take notice. The other thing that would have made people take notice if they were paying enough attention is that as Ryan made his way up the couple steps to his front door all of the black vans pulled from their parking places at the curbs of the nearby streets at the same time.

“Mom I’m home!” called Ryan as he entered his house and kicked off his shoes at the door. He took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack attached to the beige wall of his living room.

“How was School dear?” came the usual answer from the kitchen.

“Oh same old same old,” he called out and then muttered under his breath, “hell, torture, the worst thing ever invented by man.”

“Ok dear....go get your homework done. Dinners in about 2 hours and you can tell us if anything special happened today!”

“Sure mom!” He sighed as he shouldered his backpack full of books once more and trudged upstairs. He couldn’t tell his mom all of what happened at school. She wouldn’t understand he thought. She’d get upset at the bullying and make a scene and then the bullying would get worse. His parents were also very understanding but who knew what they would think if he came out and told them _‘oh guess what mom, dad? I think I want to become a girl, can we look into that?’_ No, it was best he thought if he just kept his mouth shut. No reason to cause possible problems at home when he had enough of them at school.

When he got to his room, Ryan closed the door and flopped down on his bed, pulling one of the few stuffed animals he still had from when he was a young kid close and hugging it tightly. The backpack fell to the floor with a thud and Ryan closed his eyes and let out a long shuddering sigh. No, he wouldn’t cry, not again.

“Alexa, play 90’s Rock, volume 4.” he said softly.

“Playing station 90’s Alternative and Grunge” came the reply from a smart speaker on his bedside table. Ryan frowned wondering why they couldn’t just call it Rock...it was much easier to say but he was glad that it still played the songs he liked.

He pulled the stuffed toy close to his face and though he said he wasn’t going to he started crying against it hoping the music was enough to hide any muffled sobs if his Mom came upstairs. It was a blue sparkly dragon that his dad had won for him at the PA Ren Faire. It was one of the few things from when he was little that he wouldn’t give up, and that his parents had never asked him to get rid of. They knew how special times like that were to him and how important the tangible mementos were.

Suddenly, there was a sound of screeching tires outside as multiple black vans sped onto the street and slid to a halt both in front of his house and as barricades on the corners of the block where he lived. His house was basically right in the middle of the block. Ryan got up and ran to his window to look out of it and he saw armed men jumping from the backs of the van with high-tech looking guns and armored black robes with large white crosses on them.

“Purifiers! What the hell are they doing here?” Ryan muttered.

Everyone knew about the Purifiers. A cult-like group of people heavily armed that were trying to kill the mutants. But there weren’t any mutants on this street that Ryan knew of! A few weirdos sure, but every neighborhood had those.

Ryan’s room was on the back corner of the house so his view of the front street was limited and he lost sight of the Purifiers. He was about to head to the front of the house to see what was going on and where when he caught sight of the same robed figures in his backyard cutting down his fence so they could move into his yard easier. He was about to bang on the window and yell at them but he heard what sounded like an explosion downstairs as someone breached the front door.

Ryan’s mother was screaming at the Purifiers and on instinct, Ryan moved to his closet opening it and grabbing an old baseball bat he kept in there from his Tee-Ball days. It was autographed by one of the retired members of the Phillies so he wasn’t about to get rid of it. Even as he grabbed it, he wondered what the hell he was thinking? An aluminum bat wouldn’t stand a chance against these armed men! Suddenly there was the sound of shots fired downstairs and his mother’s screams cut off sharply in that instant. Ryan forgot all about the bat and instead went and grabbed his dragon and dove into the closet himself trying to shut the door quietly. He pushed his dragon against his mouth to stifle any sobs that may escape though this time it was from pure fear.

He could hear the Purifiers stomping around the house kicking open doors. Why were they here? Why did they shoot his mother? What were they looking for? Suddenly Ryan’s eyes got large as the first strains of the song “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine came on. He stupidly thought about how his mom hated this song due to all the cursing in it but it played quite a bit on this station and he usually ended up skipping it so she wouldn’t yell at him. His hand reached for the doorknob of the closet because he realized the music was going to give away that he was here. Just as his hand touched the knob though he heard the bedroom door get kicked in and he shrank back against the wall. The music went quiet as one of the Purifiers ripped Ryan’s Echo off of the nightstand which only let Ryan hear the thump of boots on his wooden floor even louder as another came to stand right outside the closet door.

“Please go...please no...please please please no..”, he chanted in a soft whisper as he rocked back and forth dropping the stuffed dragon to the floor in his fright.

The door of the closet was suddenly yanked open and there stood a Purifier, his high-tech rifle swinging swiftly to train on Ryan’s head. Ryan opened his mouth to scream but any sound he would have made was drowned out by the sound of the weapon going off in such a small space.

  
  


********Meanwhile on the Island of Krakoa********

The mutant woman known as Sage frowned at her computer screen. She started tapping away at keys and multiple feeds flared to life from Police Scanners to Social Media across her screens.

“What the hell are the Purifiers doing there. There haven’t been any reports on a mutant in that...”

“Sage we just got a hit from Cerebro! A new emerging mutant in Pennsylvania,” called out M.

Sage closed her eyes and asked hesitantly, “It wouldn’t be in a town known as Glenolden by chance, would it?”

Monet St. Croix tilted her head to the side in surprise “How did you know that?”

“No time,” Sage’s fingers began to speed over her keyboard once more, “OK Link me to the Cuckoos NOW!”

_“Done”,_ came M’s voice in her mind.

“ _Send out an alert to the following X-Men we need them Immediately! Pixie, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Wolverine, Wolfsbane, and Prestige. We have a new Mutant detected and Purifiers on site! Reach out to Magik and have her ready up if this first team needs help. The Co-ordinates are..._ ”

********A Few Moments Later in Glenolden********

The strike team that Sage had put together teleported in thanks to Pixie and landed on the roof of the house they were looking for. Wolverine crept to the edge and looked over, a soft snarl of a whisper escaping.

“We may be too late. Looks like they’re packing up.”

Rachel shook her head. “Cerebro is still registering a mutant signature here. But if they’re leaving maybe we should let them.”

“Ah smell blood...” growled Wolfsbane who had assumed her wolfgirl form.

Shadowcat had moved up to crouch next to Wolverine. As the leader of the Marauders and Red Queen of the Hellfire Club, she was the mission leader. “There’s too many of them for us to take on...”

“Says you,” came a soft grunt from Wolverine. Kitty laid a hand on his shoulder before continuing.

“And there’s too many civilians around. I agree with Rache we let them pack up and go but while they do I’m gonna peek into the upstairs here and see what’s going on. Rache keep us connected.” And with that Kate Pryde phased through the roof onto the first floor roof below running along the house like a little balcony for the second floor.

Shadowcat kept herself walking on the molecules of air just above the roof. She didn’t want the silvery black tar or the fall leaves to crunch under her feet and give her presence away. Looking in the front window she could see that the most movement was taking place in the back of the house. Without a second's hesitation or thought she passed through the wall and into the front room silently as a ghost. Other than the door having been kicked down though this room seemed to be fine. Passing to the back of the room she stuck her head slowly through the wall to check out the middle room which was also clear except for the broken door so she slid fully through the wall. She used all of her ninja training to be sure she was nothing more than a shadow passing through the room and into the closet at the back. Seeing how small it was she figured it probably butted up against the back rooms closet and so she slid her head through the wall once more and then quickly covered her mouth to still a gasp as she pulled back into the room she was in. She leaned back against the wall her eyes closed.

“W _e....we’re too late Rache...they killed a kid. Blasted a hole straight through his head. Logan, Rahne, Kurt....track these guys when they leave...when they’re alone make them pay for what they did here. Rache see if they’re Psi-shielded and if not give them a push to get out of here faster_.”

“ _Kate this is M. Prestige has been keeping us in the loop for your progress. Archangel and Warpath are on the way to help in the hunt. The council has agreed that while we do not kill humans these Purifiers must pay. However, we are also still registering an unknown mutant in your vicinity so keep your eyes open, according to Cerebro you’re practically standing on top of them._ ”

Kate wondered if M was more spot-on than she knew and knelt down on the floor of the closest. She stuck her head slowly through the floor until only the front of her face came through the kitchen ceiling where she saw the body of Ryan’s mother full of holes and blood splattered all over the wall and window behind her. Kate pulled back once more and rested her forehead on the floor as she listened to the Purifiers leaving. She would never get used to the brutality that humans could inflict on each other.

“ _Rache do a Psi-Scan see if you find anyone in this building, maybe they have a panic room in the basement or something that we don’t know about. The kids mom is dead downstairs and I can’t see them packing up to leave if they knew of other survivors._ ” Kate commanded with a mental sigh.

“ _Katzchen the last ones are heading out. Wolverine and Wolfsbane are already on the hunt for their targets._ ”

“ _Thanks Kurt, port Rache and Pixie in here and then go follow those last guys and keep tabs with Warren and James so they know where to go._ ”

Suddenly the room Kitty was in filled with a cloud of purple smoke, the stench of brimstone, and the BAMF like sound of air being displaced by the teleporting mutant as he dropped off Pixie and Prestige and then again as he teleported back to the roof to start his own hunt.

“OK guys lets go find this mutant, they gotta be here somewhere,” Kitty spoke as she slipped through the floor and down once more to start searching the basement of the house.

Rachel started a quick mind scan. “It’s so odd. I can sense a mind here, but I can’t sense where. There’s so much fear and anguish that I’m having a hard time breaking through to it.”

Pixie had already been walking through the upstairs of the house, her Soul Dagger drawn just in case there was any trouble cloaked somehow. She got to Ryan’s bedroom and frowned as she looked around. She saw the stuffed dragon, its tail peeking out from under the bed and bent down to grab it refusing to look in the closet knowing what was in there from what Kitty had already told them. It was odd though she could have sworn in the brief link where Kitty showed them the body that this dragon had been next to the dead kid’s foot. She pulled the dragon out by it’s tail slowly. Seeing that it was splattered with blood where the rest of the floor here wasn’t, she frowned. As she stood up, the stuffed dragon started thrashing in her hand.

“ _Ow hey let go!_ ” the stuffed dragon seemed to scream and she dropped it instantly with a yelp of surprise. The stuffed toy gave a grunt as it hit the floor and then quickly scrambled under the bed. 

Rachel hearing the yelp of surprise from Pixie came charging into the room just moments later her power surrounding her like a flaming aura as she looked for some threat that wasn’t there. 

“Pixie? Whats wrong? You gave a cry?”

“I...there was a....stuffed dragon...it yelled at me...in my mind...I think. It ran under the bed!” stammered a surprised Pixie.

Rachel gave a small grin and sent a quick telepathic call to Kitty. “ _I think Pixie may have found our mutant, you may want to get up here!_ ”

Rachel and Pixie both got down on their knees and Rachel used her telekinesis to hold the blankets up away from the ground so they could see under the bed better. Sure enough, there was a blue stuffed dragon, spattered with blood, shivering behind a mound of toys that had just been shoved under the bed one day during cleaning and forgotten there. Both girls looked at each other and then back at the little dragon.

“Hey there.... what’s your name? We’re not here to hurt you, promise,” said Pixie softly as she held out a hand.

Seeing the cute pink and black-haired girl for the first time really, the little stuffed dragon crept out from its hiding place. It approached Pixie and Rachel cautiously and even let Pixie pick it up. Pixie stood and cradled the dragon close. Both Rachel and Pixie's eyes got wide as they heard a soft male voice in their head even though it seemed to come from the little dragon.

“ _My name is Ryan. I....What happened to me? The Purifiers... they broke into my house! I heard my mom screaming and....I think...I think they killed her! Oh god they killed my mom!_ ”

Pixie looked helplessly at Rachel as she softly pet the stuffed dragon like one might a stressed kitten.

“Ryan, my name is Rachel and the one holding you is Megan. Can you tell us why you seem to be a stuffed toy?”

“ _Is that what happened? I....I remember hiding in my closet when I heard the purifiers shoot my...my mother. But my music was playing...I was going to turn it off so they wouldn’t hear it but it was too late....they opened the closet and found me.....the last thing I remember was them pointing a gun at me! Then it was dark and you were pulling..pulling...my tail?_ ” 

Poor Ryan sounded shocked as he said this last bit and honestly who could blame him Rachel thought. He was holding up pretty well compared to others they had encountered in the past. Kate came in at that point to see a stuffed dragon looking at its tail tilting its head back and forth on its own as though in wonder.

“I...well this is new. Ok guys Sage is telling me that the police are just about here. Pixie can you port us back to Krakoa no sense testing our diplomatic immunity with the cops if we don’t have to. Especially since we have two dead bodies in the house.”

Hearing that the dragon started to cry and Pixie handed it over to Rachel who gave Kate a ‘Look what you did now’ type of glare.

“ _Oh my god I’m dead aren’t I?_ ” cried Ryan loudly making Kate wince both from how loud it was and the fact that she caused it.

“Nonsense Ryan,” said Rachel “You’re talking to us and I can assure you that my powers are not to talk to the dead. You’re a mutant like us, we just have to figure out how you ended up in a stuffed toy is all. OK, Pixie let’s go!”

Pixie nodded and started to chant, summoning the stepping disk portal that would teleport them back to Krakoa. Once they were back, Rachel reached out to her mom, Emma Frost, and even professor Xavier, asking them to meet the team in Beasts lab. She handed the little dragon gently over to Pixie.

“Come on we should go see Beast, he may be able to help us figure this out!”

Pixie followed Rachel while Kate headed off due to some work she had to do for the Hellfire Trading Company. Pixie kept unconsciously petting Ryan’s dragon body, but he wasn’t complaining about it, instead curling up in her arms until they got to Beast's lab. They settled in as the other Telepaths got there for a long day of testing both physically and psychically and getting Ryan adjusted to whatever it was that was happening to him.


	2. A new body

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan goes on a field trip with Pixie, Rachel Summers, Daken and Beast to find a new body so he can get out of the stuffed dragon he has been trapped in.
> 
> A bit more explanation on this new mutants powers.

For the better part of two days, various X-Men of various specialties came in and out of Beast’s labs to talk to and try to figure out Ryan Gayle and his powers. After Magik had dropped off Warpath to help with the Purifier hunt she had grabbed Ryan's body and brought it to Krakoa in case there was any way having it could help. Xavier stayed with Ryan most of the time on the Astral plane, trying to calm the boy and figure out why it was so hard to read him in the psychic aether. Pixie also stayed most of the time, gently holding the little stuffed dragon between tests, knowing that her very presence was helping Ryan to stay calm through all of this. The Five were given a copy of Ryan's genetic code and they were told to fast track making him a new body.

“Do you think that we can reunite him with his body professor?” asked Pixie hesitantly as she softly stroked the little stuffed dragon that had once more curled up in her arms.

“I’m honestly not sure Megan. It’s very hard to keep a grasp on Ryan’s mind. There’s no real anchor without the body yet he isn’t dissipating into the astral plane or anything like we would normally expect. In fact, he seems almost to have become a part of the Astral Plane it would seem, or at least that's the easiest way to describe it right now.” came Xavier's reply.

The little dragon looked between them as they talked but didn’t interrupt. He wanted to know what was going on so badly, but he knew nothing about this new world of being a mutant and it all seemed like something from a comic book or a movie to him. So, he figured he would just listen for now and try to make some sense of it. Xavier seemed to realize this and so kept talking.

“What it seems Megan is that when Ryan was shot his mutant power surfaced and let him possess for lack of a better word the doll that was sitting against his foot. I don’t know if he could have moved further than that or if it had to be a touch that triggered this. He may have gotten really lucky that the dragon was where it was. But his brain was destroyed by the gunshot. Most others who are able to astral project would be dead or be a single entity trapped on the Astral Plane. Ryan seems to have spread through the Astral Plane though as if the entire Astral Plane is now housing his mind almost like a giant brain would. I hesitate to say this, but Ryan may be truly immortal if he really is as entwined with the Astral Plane as he seems to be, and the possibilities this raises.... So, the question is can he unhook himself from the Astral Plane to reinhabit his body? We’ve already seen through our tests that he can only seem to possess non-living objects like the stuffed doll. We hope he’ll be able to go back into his own body even if it is a new version, but there’s just so much we don’t know about how his powers work yet.”

“So then until the Five can get him a new body shouldn’t we try to find something better for him to... to.... Wear? As a body?” asked Pixie. “I doubt he wants to stay a stuffed dragon until then.... What do you say Ryan?”

“ _ Well.... it would be nice to be in some sort of body that was a little more normal. _ ” came the soft reply. Ryan had gotten a lot better at controlling his volume in others' minds, though his mental voice still carried to anyone who would normally be able to hear him when regularly speaking. Professor Xavier thought that was due to Ryan’s mind believing he was talking normally and acting on instinct instead of using targeted telepathy. It was something Xavier had asked Jean and Emma to work with him on later.

“Yes, I’m sure we could figure out something for a body for him in the meantime. It should only be a few days I would think but we certainly want him comfortable,” agreed Xavier.

As they were talking, Logan's son Daken was passing by the door to the lab on his way to get Rachel about a mission coming up for X-Factor. He stopped short, his arm shooting out so his hand could grasp the doorway and he peeked his head back into the room.

“Did I hear you need a body for the new kid? I know where you can get tons of them!”

Pixie blinked and looked over at Daken. “I don’t even want to know where or what you’re talking about. But we would need an inorganic body, dead doesn’t count.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know! I have the perfect place with the perfect thing we would need for him!” Daken looked at the stuffed dragon and smirked “What do you say, kid? Wanna take a field trip and get yourself a loaner body?”

The little dragon looked between them and Professor Xavier gave a soft shrug. “It can’t hurt...just be careful and remember no killing people.”

Ryan nodded to Pixie and the string of a mouth curved up in a little smile. “ _Sounds good to me_.”

“Ok.... Daken go get ready and meet us back here, I’ll port us to the location, and it better not be a morgue or something gross like that!”

Daken laughed raising his hands, “Don’t worry Pix this’ll be great! Be back in ten!”

********15 minutes later in Florida********

Pixie's portal opened on a dark shop and deposited four people and a small stuffed dragon into an empty space. Rachel Summers had gone with them to help monitor Ryan telepathically especially if he could find a new body but Beast had also tagged along to keep watch on him as well. Beast was the first one to move and drew close to a wall one clawed hand picking up a box and he looked back at Daken.

“Really? You brought us here?”

“What?” Daken asked with a laugh backing away from Beast his hands raised in mock surrender. “This is the perfect place we just have to go to the storage room in the back. No one is here, they had to close things down except for limited hours due to all the insanity going on here lately. Personally, I can’t wait till our medicines get distributed and knock this Covid stuff out, my friend who works here needs the paychecks!”

Daken started to lead them towards the back room and Beast shook his head as he placed the box back and moved to follow. Rachel fingered some leather corsets hanging on a rack and smirked.

“Reminds me of my days with Excalibur. I was a bit more daring with my style then.”

Pixie’s eyes were wide as she stared around the dark shop, a deep red blush suffused her cheeks. “Well, I guess I should just be glad this isn’t a morgue?”

As they got to the back room Daken hit a switch and the warehouse area the shop was attached to lit up with a faint buzzing of fluorescent light tubes revealing shelf upon shelf of sex toys. Ryan hid his head under a wing and peeked out slightly in embarrassment as Daken lead them to the back of the warehouse. As they rounded a large shelf of packaged sex swings, they got to where Daken was leading them and he gave a theatrical bow inviting them forward.

“Oh, my stars and garters...” whispered Beast.

“Wow, Daken... Ummm you knew about this why?” asked Rachel. “I mean you never seemed to be one that would need this?”

Pixie giggled at Rachels's words and placed Ryan down on a table and the little dragon looked around at row upon row of different silicone sex dolls. They looked so close to real, it was eerie but then you’d notice nipples that could be penetrated or some other oddity you wouldn’t see every day, like a full pussy and dick on the same female shaped doll.

“Like I said I had a friend....well ok she was a bit more than a friend...but she works here. She was actually the one that takes pictures of these beauties for the website. So here you go Ryan just about any body type you could want to pick from, male or female... and on the shelves off to the side, there are all the heads you can choose from.”

Ryan had been looking at the male dolls but his dragon body stilled as he heard Daken's words and he looked over to them all where they stood inspecting the dolls.

“ _ I....I...could pick male or female? _ ” he whispered in their minds hesitantly as though he couldn’t believe it.

Daken looked confused. “Well of course you could. You’re lucky with your power you can be any of these here. Have any body you want, any head you want. Pick from the wigs and get any hair you want.”

“ _ And you all would be fine with it no matter what I chose? _ ”

Pixie gasped and her eyes teared up as she grabbed the dragon up and gave it a huge hug which made Ryan give out a squeak of pain in their heads. She loosened her grip on him but kept him in the hug. “Of course we’d be fine with it! You pick out whatever one you like. You’re a mutant now and it’s time to start living your life how you want to and fuck what the rest of the world thinks right?”

Everyone else nodded and voiced their support for Ryan to live how he wished. They were all mutants and until they had Krakoa, they were all hated or feared due to being different. Now they had a chance to let someone who was different as well become who they wished to be and hopefully find joy in themselves in a place that would accept them for who they were no matter who that was.

His voice was still hesitant as he looked up at Pixie, “ _ Could you take me to the female bodies? _ ”

She smiled softly to him and started walking over to the other side of the room where there were quite a bit more of the dolls since the female body types outnumbered the male about 10 to 1. Slowly they walked up and down the various models of dolls Ryan looking each one over until they got to a short athletic model. This one had small breasts but for the smaller stature that made her very proportional. She reminded Ryan of the girls from school he had always wished he looked like.

“ _ This one! _ ” you could hear the excitement in his voice and Daken came over and picked the doll up to carry it to the front and lay it on the table.

“Good choice kid, let's go get you a head and some hair to go with it!” said Daken.

Rachel looked at Beast and grinned “Well Daken seems happy to help Ryan...but you look a bit uncomfortable.”

Beast gave a huff, “I am not uncomfortable...I just never thought my day would end in a sex shop in the middle of Florida studying the powers of a teen who is going to become transgender by possessing a sex doll.”

Rachel laughed and gave him a pat to the shoulder “Well when you put it that way, this is one of the more bizarre things we’ve done, but very fulfilling if you ask me.”

Beast looked to where the little stuffed dragon weaved around the various heads on a shelf inspecting each one excitedly. He gave a nod and grinned. “If only it was so easy for our powers to make all of us as happy as he is right now.”

Rachel elbowed him in the side “Better get used to calling him a her, looks like they found a head.”

Daken came back carrying a head and after a moment of looking at the mechanism attached it to the body and sat the body up. Within a few minutes, Pixie had come back with Ryan from another row of the warehouse with a few clear bags filled with wigs.

“So which one do you want to try?” asked Pixie, setting Ryan down on the table next to the body.

“ _ Ummmm the dark purple one? _ ” came the hesitant reply.

“That’s a good color.” Pixie found the right bag. It looked like most of the wigs they had were longer styles that would reach to the doll's mid-back. She tore open the bag for the purple one and put it on the doll's head. For a moment she busied herself with arranging the hair tucking it behind one slightly pointed elfen ear of the head that had been chosen letting the other stay covered.

The little dragon nodded it’s head as Pixie stepped back “ _ Perfect! So umm I guess ready whenever you guys are to try this. _ ”

Rachel linked up as well as she could to Ryans mind while Beast took out several instruments and set them up before pushing his glasses up and giving a nod. 

“I think we’re all set here. Whenever you’re ready.”

The little stuffed dragon stepped up to the sex doll and laid one sewn paw on it. So far with the various tests, they had done he had only been able to possess something when he touched it. Professor Xavier thought this may just be a mental limitation right now and since Ryan was so new to his powers it wasn’t very surprising. His powers weren’t flashy in any way but everyone knew when it happened as the dragon went limp falling to the table. Surprisingly the dolls' silicone skin actually seemed to take on a more realistic look once it became possessed by Ryan. The seam where the head and neck met disappeared from sight.

“Fascinating... if I didn’t know better I would be hard-pressed to tell that your body wasn’t a real person at first glance,” commented Beast as he checked his gadgets.

Rachel shook her head as she watched him. “Boys and their toys. Which brings us to my first question for your kiddo. What do you want to be called? I don’t think Ryan really fits anymore do you?”

Ryan was looking at her new hands and flexing the fingers then the toes making sure everything was moving as it should and she blinked and looked at Rachel hearing the question. She smiled brightly.

“Well I always wanted to be a girl and I figured I would rearrange my name some and be Rayne Elizabeth Gayle if I were to ever transition.”

Pixie leaned in and gave Rayne a huge hug “That's a wonderful name. Welcome to the world of mutants Rayne!...Now if you’ll excuse us there may not be much but maybe Rachel and I can find you something to pass for clothes here that aren’t too revealing....maybe.”

Rachel laughed and took Pixie’s arm and went with her towards the main store. “I actually think I had seen a cosplay section as we came back here...if nothing else maybe we’ll find a bodysuit that could inspire her New Mutant uniform later on.”

Beast was watching Rayne closely while Daken poked around the shelves around them looking at the various toys. Beast reached forward and tapped Rayne’s knee with a claw as though giving a reflex test. Her leg didn’t jump but Rayne did give a little yelp.

“Interesting. You had exhibited some pain reception while in the stuffed animal, it seems like that has carried over. Can you feel this as well?” Beast trailed the back of one furred finger along Rayne’s arm and she nodded.

Beast held his hand in front of Rayne’s mouth and nose and studied his fur. “You’re already using this doll's body as though it were alive. You look like you’re breathing, though since you don’t have lungs, there isn’t actually any breathing taking place. When you told us your new name it actually sounded like you were speaking instead of talking to us telepathically but without breathing that is of course impossible. Can I look in your mouth please?”

Rayne complied, opening her mouth and letting Beast peer in, he gave a few mmmhmm’s and ah ha’s and then asked her to try and move her tongue which she did. As Beast studied her, Rayne fidgeted on the table self consciously. Rachel and Pixie came back into the area with some clothes and as Pixie started laying them out Rachel crossed her arms.

“Really Hank, can’t you see you’re making the poor girl uncomfortable. At least let her get dressed before you study her like some bug under a microscope.”

Beast coughed and backed up “Oh yes...of course, please forgive me, Rayne. Sometimes I let my scientist side get the better of me.”

“So, we think these should fit, it’s not much but it’ll get us back to Krakoa and settled in without you being stared at by every horny mutant on the island!” said Pixie cheerfully.

Rayne pulled on the clothes they had found which was a form-fitting bodysuit that while it looked a lot like an X-Men uniform was nowhere near as durable and a black leather jacket. “It’ll work for now, but I think I’ll need to add some color to it.”

Pixie looked at Rayne and narrowed her eyes some. “Are you trying to change your voice?”

“Ummmm no why?”

“Well as you talk you seem to be sounding more feminine. It seems your mind is already starting to compensate your inner voice with how you feel and look,” said Rachel.

“Rachel can you get a clearer read on Rayne now?” asked Beast as he packed up his various gadgets.

She shook her head softly. “No, I can sense her easily but can’t pinpoint her. She’s like a fog kinda filling this whole area. I think the Professor was right that she has somehow become a part of the Astral Plane.”

Beast nodded thoughtfully as he finished packing up the gear. “Well, I think we’ll pick up with things tomorrow. Let's get back to the island and get our new young lady settled in a room, probably near the lab for now. But maybe tomorrow afternoon, Pixie can take her to the Akademos Habitat and introduce her to some of the other younger mutants?”

Pixie nodded. “Sounds good to me...let's get going....wait where's Daken?” 

Daken jogged into the area carrying a black shopping bag in one hand and grinning. “Sorry was just paying for everything....can’t just steal from a friend now can I?”

As Daken got there Pixie teleported them all back to Krakoa outside of the lab complex. Rachel and Daken bade their farewells and left to check in with X-Factor to see if anything came up while they were gone. Beast told Pixie where to take Rayne to set up her room, and Pixie grabbed Rayne’s hand and pulled her into the building as Beast watched on. Xavier came up behind Beast.

“Well, Hank? What do you think?”

“Young Ryan is now Rayne and I think she is going to prove to be an interesting young lady. I’m just not sure whether she is an Omega level mutant or a new External....either way her power level for just coming into her powers is amazingly high. Her potential...well it’s actually quite mind-boggling.”

“Thank you, Hank. Why don’t you go let Forge know about Ryan becoming Rayne as he was going to craft her some new forms she could use in case of combat situations and then get some rest.”

“Of course Professor. Good night.” And with that Beast went into the lab building to find Forge.

“Rayne...." Xavier thought deeply. "The next few days should be quite interesting I think.”


End file.
